Monica A

I have read conflicting things online and am confused.

My step father passed away. He had a LIRA and named me as the beneficiary of it. He was not married (my Mom and him have been divorced several years, but i still considered him my step dad)

Anyway, as such, I received a lump sum of the balance of the LIRA. It looks like no tax was held or taken off -- i got the full amount sent to me via cheque from the company it was with.

Now, I have read that the the ESTATE will pay the tax owing on it when they file his last tax return for him on his behalf. And I have read that as a named beneficiary, I receive it TAX FREE (because the estate pays the tax on it) Is this true? I would just hate to think I have $______ when really, it's 30% (or whatever) less than what I actually got because I have to pay tax on it.

If the information is relevant, I always received a good tax RETURN each year because I qualified as a "low income earner" -- so it's not like i'm making a 6 figure income and got this extra money.

Any help would be appreciated!!!

ALSO-- as a side note, I am also going to be receiving the balance of his pension (as a named beneficiary) he had with his work. The company said they will probably hold back 30% withholding tax. Is that something I can "get back" from the estate (reimbursed), or do i just cut my losses on that? Would I still be subject to ADDITIONAL tax even after the withholding tax is taken?

Let me elaborate:

There is a school supplies list I was looking over. (list is here: http://www.davenportschools.org/wp-content/uploads... ) Among the standard crayons and such, they listed Ziplock Freezer bags. This is not strange. I can see the many uses from storing art, to maybe being used for soiled clothing.

However, what I am CONFUSED on is why on the list they say that girls require GALLON size ziplock bags, while boys require QUART size bags. Why would there be a size difference in bags based on gender? I am really stumped on this. Does anyone know why or have a theory?

Serious answers only. I am very curious!

I bought a jar of asian pickled chili radish. It is this product: http://master-sauce.com.tw/products-detail.php?id=...

It is a bit too salty to just eat by itself, but I do like the flavour. I am just not sure what to do with it. It is similar in flavour to yellow pickled daikon that is in pickled daikon sushi, except there is a bit of spice too. Aside from putting it in maki sushi, what else can I do with it? What is it generally used for?

I'm getting a chihuahua puppy that is going to be registered with the Canadian Kennel Club. My breeder says I can choose the registered name and I am having trouble with it.

My pup's "common" name will be Squiglet. (a.k.a. Squiggy) but I dont know what to register him as. The name is going to start with "Picasso's" because that is the name of the breeder.

Some words/names I like:

Faust

Faustus

Parnassus

Stardust

Sir _____ (Sir Squiglet?)

I was thinking something like:

Picasso's Parnassus Squiggs

Picasso's Squiglet "Squiggy" Stardust

Picasso's Sir Faustus Squiggmire

...opinions? Ideas? HELP!!!

I am looking for some cute games to play online (for free.) Preferably I would like ones that don't require other players. I really like The Sims (i know it's not free, it is the one game I purchased) and FarmVille. I like FarmVille because it is cute but it irritates me that I have to add friends/invite people in order to get further in the game.

So, what other games are similar to this that I can play, for free, and without having to rely on other players? I like building things and creating houses or farms or cities, etc. I like having the chance to be creative with how I design things in the game. Also, cute things make me happy. :)

Any good links...?